MODULE

BUSINESS

TOPIC

Ways of working
Different ways of working

VOCABULARY

How do you work most effectively? By working ...

regular hours / flexible hours?
from home / in an oftice?

in a team / on your own?

for a boss / as your own boss?

Compare your responses with a partner.

Match these ways of working 1-8 to definitions A-I. Do you work in any of these
ways
O
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

freelance ~
teleworking
job-sharing
shift work
part-time
temping
consultancy
flexitime
hot-desking

A You work during different parts of the day (eg nights).

B You sell your work or services to a number of different
companies.
C You work for different companies for a short time
without a permanent contract.
D You work a number of hours per week ar month but you
decide when you start ar finish.
E You don't have a permanent place or oftice ta work
from, but you find a place to work when you arrive.
F You work for a company from home via email, phone or
the Internet.
G You onlywork for some ofthe week (not full-time),
H You do your job for part of the week and another person
does it for the other part.
1 You areri't employed by a company, but are paid to give
specialist advice.

Here are some people describing the advantages and disadvantages of different
ways ofworking. Match the nine ways ofworking in exercise 2 to their comments.
Some comments might describe more than one way.

r;,!great because l'm

I~~
I

-,

own boss, but I still

work with lots of
different people.

~Sh
I had my own
space. I have to carry
everything around in my
bag and sometimes
there's nowhere to sit.

It can get a bit lonely at

times. And I miss my
colleagues and aII the
\ oftice gossip.

I like it because it's only

for a couple of months
and I'm saving up to go
round the world.

~nlY
problem is
sleeping. Your body
never knows if it's
~~ht

My children are at school

it lets me spend more
time with them.
50

Il

o_rd_a_y_!
__

When one of us wants a

week off, the other person
does a few extra day.'ISO it',
fairly flexible.
,

\...

Work in pairs. Think of one more advantage or disadvantage for each way of
working in exercise 2.

"

-J

Read about job-sharing. Write these headings into each paragraph.

Get organised

Set your limits

Put pen to paper

Two become one

Open your mind

Plan for disaster

Find the perfect partner

Don't feel guilty

How to job-share
Wouldn't it be nice if the working week
finished on Wednesday? With a job-share
it can. Here's the essential guide to
making it work,
(O)Find the perfect partner
Find someone you like. 'Be prepared to
communicate and share credit and blame,'
says Carol Savage, the managing director of
Flexecutive, a flexible working consultancy.
(1)

Bosses should consider requests for ftexible

working from employees with children under
six. So embrace the benefits: 'Twice as much
experience, skills, brainpower and energy,'
Savage says.
(2)

Always discuss the worst-case

scenarios.

When Margaret Mills, a teacher, lost her jobshare partner because of a family illness, a
return to full-time work seemed inevitable.
'We had been over-optimistic. 1 did manage to
tind someone else who titted in with me, but 1
was very lucky.'

(3)

Plan the system for handing work over

carefully and play to each other's different
strengths. Delegate the workload according to
each other's particular skills and qualities.
(4)

Managers should clarify what they expect in

terms of hours, availability and results, and
employees should manage their employer's
expectations. Sue Osborn, a job-sharer for 21
years, says, 'We're often asked to do five-day
weeks. Eventually you just have to say no.'
(5) --,_
Agree in writing arrangements for holidays,
parental leave, retirement, etc. Everyone
should know where they stand from the
beginning.
(6)
_
Do not work untillam at home to make up
for not being in the oftice every day.
(7)
_
Clients may not like having to deal with two
people so work closely together. As Savage
says: 'A job-share should be like a marriage
- one voice, one unit.'

How easy would it be for you to job-share? Would your employer or boss think it
was a good idea?

MODULE

WAYS OF WORKING

Working from home

LlSTENING

G) 1.1 You will hear a woman

called Michela talking about working from home.

1 What does she say is important when working from home?

2 What does she think are some ofthe advantages and disadvantages ofthis way of
working?

2 @ 1.1 Listen again

and answer the following.

1 Complete the notes about Michela's typical day.

7.00 -

qet up, qetthe kid.s ready

8.30

soo
1:<.00
11.30

2 How long has she been with her current employer? How long has she been
home- working?
3 Is she doing anything different from normal this week?

Present tenses

GRAMMAR

Match the sentences from the listening ta the grammar explanations.

Sentences

Explanations

1 '1 always get up araund seven,'

2 'I've been doing this kind of work for
about five years.
3 'I've been with the same company
since 1left school.
4 'I'm going into the office nearly every
day this week'

A a state that started in the past and

continues to the present
B a rautine activity
C an activity taking place at or around
the time of speaking
D an activity that started in the past and
continues in the present

Name the tenses in exercise 3.

present continuous present perfect continuous
present simple present perfect simple

~iClInarTip

Write the verb in brackets

in its correct form and complete

these tips for working

fromhome.

ally write
-=--="'.--.-~such as
have
-::-:~x:s:300s.), love,
-;:::;::~.~2 o:llltinuous

Evenat horne. always

set (set) yourself a timetable.

1 You

(need) to find a quiet place to work, where

there are no distradions.

2 If you

(communicate) with a client on the

phone today rather than face-to-face, it's stil!important to dress for

work as normal.
3 Now that you

(escape) from the office, you'lI

stil! need peoce and quiet at home. Don't answer the door to
neighbours or make social calls.
4 Once you

(work) from home for a while, you

might feel a bit lonely. It might be worth going into the office once or
twice a week.
5 After you

(be) at the computer for a few hours,

remember to take a break - why not leave the house and go for a
walk outside?
6 Be strong. When a friend calls and asksyou out to lunch, say what you
would say in any other job: 'Sorry but I

(work)

on something at the moment. How about after five instead?'

7 Make
____

sure

colleagues

~_~~_

and

clients

con

reach

you

and

(answer) the phene as though you are in the

offlce.

A mini-presentation

: : =-~.JlI N G

Work in pairs. Choose one ofthe ways ofworking

'rnini-presentation'

below and prepare

on the topic for the rest ofthe class.

A: ~TISIMPORTANT

B: ~T

IS IMPORTANT

WHEN ... ?

WHEN ... ?
Iob-sharing

Working from home

Find someone you like.

Set up an office space in the

Organise and plan how you

share the work.

house.
Plan your working hours
aud your breaks.

MODULE

WAYS OF WORKING